I present to you exhibit A, Stella Blue. Jerry's vocal tone and guitar texture on this recording is sublime. This one goes in the permanent collection.

Thank you Barry Glassberg. Thank you Mr. Garcia and associates.

agree w/ some of the other comments about '81-'82: a golden era of brent-era grateful dead -- and this show reflects that. the '81 east coast spring tour to follow the brief europe run among the best tours of the early 80's imo... the sugaree, peggy-o and althea are all killer and the rippin' alabama set 2 opener sets the tone for the rest... thx to the band and barry g. for this excellent pull

very balanced aud of a good++ show

Like Sherpa said below, I just keep coming back to this show. Every Jerry song is fantastic, but Althea and the last few minutes of Stella are next level good. Really into early Brent era lately - specifically 81 & 82. Can’t really think of any bad things to say about this one. 5 stars.

I love all the songs on this set but of course I have to point out a few outstanding Jerry songs.

Peggy-O

Ship of Fools

These two are some of the top, extended picking solos for these songs, in my opinion of course.

Definitely a good Stranger and Passenger.

Get that "rare" China Cat-> Rider in the early 80s.

Tone from all the stringed instruments is on point.

Give it a listen!

Come for the Althea, stay for the Sugaree. Oh my, Jerry. A smokin’ show.

Jesu was played between other one and stella blue.

Stellar. Simply Stellar Show.

Drove down with my friend Mark from Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. He had exposed me to the band during my freshman year.
I knew of them, but until that point, had only listened to Skeletons from the Closet album.
We were in the upper level as far from the stage as you could be.
Although I recall this show, my second show in Providence on 5/16/81 made a permanent impression on me. Mark took me to that one too.
I blame the next 14 years of touring on him.

Back in 2012 I wrote...... Now have to re
comment on this one.
As many have said below this is an amazing sounding Aud , everyone is correct. it is mind blowing how good this show sounds. Not the best of set lists yet is rip roaring .
I can picture the sweaty heads dancing all night long. gets 5 stars twice in my book.
Reviewer: jjg4762 - ★favorite★favorite★favorite★favorite★favorite - September 27, 2012
Subject: WOW
wowie

Reiterating most of the other reviews here, a great all around show. The Sugaree is just fantastic. Makes me smile. This show for me is what the Dead were capable of in the 80s. They went and incorporated components of the older style of jams with a focus on instrumentation and then started bringing in a new rock and roll style of playing their shows. The Dead changed to a degree with the times specifically in the 70s and then the 80s. It sure was excellent on nights that they played great.

Granted Althea is amazing, I mean cold beer after cutting the grass amazing. Reaches you deep inside. But Sugaree is fantastic, you could feel Jerry warming up in the first solo, and knew it would be a night to remember. The sweet wavering notes that begin the second solo ease you into the Big Man's exploration that doesn't quite satiate what he needs, but then he dives back in for a second helping and gets closer. Its a real crowd pleaser.

After Bobby gives him a break he comes back later in the set with that amazing Althea.

After space he finds enough in the tank to give us a classic Stella. Vocally one of my favorites, and instrumentally as crisp as they come. The last solo is mystical. The way he dances up to the crescendo then backs off over and over leaves you love sick.

Many thanks tor such an awesome recording too. This mastery makes this show as much as the boys did.

Highlights: Bertha

This is a top notch audience recording.

Lots of nice playing to boot.

Well, repeated listening has mellowed my opinion a bit. While a good show with an excellent second set ender, it ain't quite as special as I thought. The ear gets picky after it's heard Irvine '87...

Yes well each track from this show logs over 180 plays on my Itunes.
Bertha!

This is one of those Dead performances that no matter what you are doing, even if you are just listening to this tape in the background, you stop, crank the volume, and just stare at the wall while Althea plays.

Good lord this is amazing - one of the best recordings and performances. Must listen and download. And yes the Bertha is fast.

This is hands down the greatest AUD of any show i've ever heard--and what a phenomenal show it is.

Typical blazing '81 picking by Jerry (BIG RIVER, CHINA>RIDER, ALTHEA), and great pack of songs post-drums highlighted by a powerful TOO>STELLA combo.

But the sound quality puts it over the top: all the clarity of a SBD and all the energy you expect from an AUD.

Great Sound! Great Show!!

The best aud I have ever heard and a solid show. Sounds just like I am on the floor in a killer seat.

Yes, indeed it is Jerry riffing on Bach....for a few bars, must have been quite a unique moment to be there for that!...Great Show, great recording, sound is impeccable. And Bertha....on speed for sure!, never heard it so fast! This website is amazing. I listen nearly every day!

A true gem that I just stumbled upon.Great party Dead from start to finish. Excellent sound quality as well; sounds great in the car!

Best Althea ever period. Jerry at his nastiest!

first time hearing this one. Freakin Sweet!!!! New to the Dead. I use the reviews of the concert that you guys write to determine if I d/l or not. Thanks and keep it up. Chris McConnell

I'm not a classical music expert, but is Jerry playing Bach's,"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" during the transition from The Other One > Stella Blue? Even if you do not recognize the title, you will recognize the tune. It's played at a lot of weddings.

Thanks a lot

Maybe it's my system(Pioneer glass tube amp., Boston Acoustics Towers with intergrated sub woofers, and a Phat Paradigm stand alone sub woofer)but this sounds FREAKIN AWESOME! I wish I could invite ya'll to my basement and then up to my livong romm to hang out and listen. Oh shit, here comes my pissed off neighbor again...

This show is exactly what comes to mind when I think about the greatest band to walk to the earth. I'm glad I'm a deadhead.

This recording puts you in the crowd with soundboard quality music. Excellent show def worth the listen. I have to give this a 5, one of the best I have heard on the archive. Thank you for sharing!

I was 21 and went w/out a ticket...looked for hours w/no luck...a door flew open and my friend and I were in..Not proud of my behavior but I was young.Many late 70's/early 80's aud. tapes were almost as clear as this one...later years qual. went way down in most cases...A great show but I still prefer 5-10-80, Hartford a little more...But you have to love how Jerry sounded on 3-14...A very well made recording! Thanks!!!!!

This show was high octane from start to finish. Jerry played with particularly intense speed throughout the entire show. Best audience recoding I have ever heard. Can someone please point me in the right direction to find other audience recordings of this quality. And good lord Bertha was hot. Cant wait to see Furthur at THE VIBES this upcoming week. Not the same magic at this though.

EPIC SET

Hello Barry and Adam. Mike B here. Thanks for this recording. This was my first GD show. Barry you nailed it! Are you going to any Furthur shows this summer?

O man.... This is a great show, typical of the high energy in the early 80's. And what an impeccable audience recording....close your eyes and it puts you right there. Got on the bus during the Brent era. Wish we could turn the clock back 30 years & do it all over again.....

I was on the wrong tab when I made my previous comment. This show is not in 24 bit, but is still a must have. Absolutely incredible. If anyone happens to know the dude screaming during Stella Blue, please punch him for me.

This sounds very very good. A few grades higher than most of the other releases of his.

The uptown feb shows sound fantastic as well.

This was my second show, this recording is fantastic. All these years later I remember the crowd moving in unison to every note, and the oriental rug on the stage that was devilishly pulsing before my eyes as the music thundered! This may be my favorite Sugaree, I can't wait to hear the rest of the recording. For some reason, this show was not liked by all who saw it, this I'll never understand because this is a standout night. Later.

This is hands down the best sounding aud i've ever heard, it sounds so clear it's almost impossible to believe that it's not a SBD

Beautiful Peggy-O. Jerry burns at the end of the china>rider, with a great transition between the two. And my personal favorite, the other one>stella blue. I really love this show. To me, this is my favorite era and venue for the dead. Sounding very similar to mid 80's Spectrum shows.

Wonderful stuff from Glassberg and MOTB....Glassberg is the master of early 80's audience taping.

Absolutely one of the best sounding audience tapes I've ever heard. Can hardly believe how good this tape sounds for any era, let alone 1981. Complete and total mastery of the medium.

I have major hearing problems. It’s called tinnitus and for those of you who don’t know it is a constant ringing in your ears. Therefore, it is hard for me to find audience shows that are of good enough quality for me to listen to without doing further damage to my hearing by having to turn up the volume. I am not saying anything about these shows except that as a person with major hearing lose, these are some of the shows that I have on my I-Pod. I am not giving any of these shows a review. I can always find something good in every show…...as long as I can hear it!!!! Here is my list for today, 9/20/08:

7.6.84, 10.15.84, 6.19.91,
7.18.89, 6.21.84, 9.6.85,
10.12.84, 10.12.83, 11.1.85,
8.24.85, 7.31.82, 6.25.92,
8.5.89, 10.31.83, 6.26.92,
10.8.84, 12.5.81, 8.30.85,
11.5.85, 6.26.84, 8.3.82,
6.8.80, 4.3.84, 8.10.82,
3.14.81, 12.26.80, 4.15.83,
4.18.82, 10.31.91, 9.2.85,
10.14.83, 4.2.90, 4.30.90,
10.14.84,

Please let me know if you have any show suggestions that compare to these in quality of sound.
Peace,
Frosty

Right up there with the best of 'em.

This is the shit.

slow down garcia

MOTB = Mouth Of The Beast which is front and center between the stage and the mixing/sound board

great recording!!!!!!Fabulous Sugaree!!!!

Five star sound! WOW! MotB rocks©!

Glassberg spring '81 + MOTB = Best source out there, period, bar none, end of story!!!

Great recording and transfer of an excellent show. Thank you Barry and the MOTB team! :-D